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Towards Enhanced Sargassum Monitoring in the Caribbean Sea
- Researchers from the University of South Florida reported in April 2025 that sargassum seaweed levels reached a record-breaking 37.5 million metric tons, surpassing all previous measurements.
- The increase followed consecutive strong negative North Atlantic Oscillation years that altered wind and circulation patterns, pushing more sargassum into tropical waters.
- In Cancun, Mexico, heavy machinery and crews removed over five tons of sargassum from Playa Delfines in one day after stormy weather caused a three-day mass arrival at Playa Coral.
- In 2022, millions of pounds of invasive sargassum were transformed into a safe fertilizer and applied to thousands of acres of farmland in the United States, resulting in nearly $5 million in increased agricultural productivity annually.
- Ongoing research on repurposing sargassum aims to aid coastal communities by reducing cleanup costs, though concerns about heavy metals require further study before wide fertilizer use.
23 Articles
23 Articles
The Caribbean and surrounding areas saw record-breaking algae blooms in May, and the numbers are expected to increase this month. The brown, spiky algae is choking coastlines from Puerto Rico to Guyana and beyond, destroying tourism, killing animals and even releasing toxic gases that forced the temporary closure of a school on the Caribbean island of Martinique.
Towards enhanced Sargassum monitoring in the Caribbean Sea
Monitoring Sargassum along the coasts of the Greater Caribbean has become essential due to recurrent blooms since 2018, which bring severe ecological, economic, and social impacts that accumulate yearly. Developing an advanced, monitoring platform would enable affected countries to make informed decisions, manage critical zones, and mitigate negative impacts on coastal ecosystems, economies, and public health. In this work, we present the LANOT …
Experts assure that this season can be exceeded the 522,000 tons that arrived in 2018 to the Mexican beaches
Saint Lucia Steps Up Efforts to Combat Sargassum as Seaweed Spreads
Saint Lucia is ramping up its response to the worsening sargassum crisis, with key discussions, foreign support and cleanup initiatives underway as the seaweed invades even previously unaffected coastlines. The Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture recently hosted a forum to address the economic and environmental toll of the recurring blooms. Meanwhile, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has committed assistance, including f…
Sargassum belt likely to stay clear of West Florida coast
There is a wave of sargassum coming from the Caribbean, and it is already breaking records this summer. It means coastal areas on the East Coast and the Florida Keys will see more algae than usual. West Florida residents and visitors, on the other hand, will not see the algae this summer. USF professor Brian Barnes works at the school’s Optical Oceanography Laboratory. He said the general trajectory of the sargassum belt keeps it from impacting …
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